A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. ~ Winston Churchill
“I like the ease of use, but it is too expensive.”
What did you hear the prospect say? During a sales interaction, it is important to stay focused on the positive. Unfortunately, we are conditioned to focus on the negative. There are only four responses a prospect will give you during a sales call. Those responses are: positive, positive negative, seemingly negative, and a true concern. The only one that can keep you from gaining a commitment is the true concern.
The technique of “Picking Up on the Positive” has two advantages; first, it keeps you focused and listening for all positive during the sales call; second, you can uncover the true concern. A true concern is the one thing that is truly keeping the prospect from using your product or service and if resolved, they will commit to using your product or service.
The first type of prospect response is positive:
- “I like the flexibility.”
- “It appears to be easier to use.”
- “Sounds interesting.”
When you hear positive statements made by the prospect, quickly pick up on them by asking about the positive:
- What is it about the flexibility that you like?
- How will ease of use help you?
- What interests you the most?
The next is a positive negative statement:
- “I like the flexibility, but it’s similar to what I am currently doing.”
- “It appears to be easier to use, but it’s not on formulary.”
- “Sounds interesting, but it’s too expensive.”
When you hear a positive negative statement, focus on the positive in the statement, even though your natural tendency is to hear and focus on the negative portion of the statement. When you hear the statement for the first time, focus on the positive in the statement by asking a question about the positive:
- “I like the flexibility, but it’s similar to what I am currently doing.”
- What is it about the flexibility that you like?
The next one is a seemingly negative statement.
- “It’ similar to what I am currently doing.”
- “It’s not on formulary”.
- “Too expensive.”
Again, although your natural tendency is to focus on the seemingly negative statement, focus on the positive in the statement by asking a question. Remember, if it is the first time you are hearing it, focus on the positive by asking a question:
- “Too expensive.” Positive: The prospect wants to see more value to using the product. A question that you could use would be:
- What is the value (or benefits) you see in using this product?
Also, an important thing to remember when using the technique of picking up on the positive is that you are weeding out the unimportant from the truly important issues of the prospect. The skill is not meant for you to ignore real prospect concerns. You can use the skill to determine the prospect’s true concerns or those issues, if resolved, will cause them to use your product now.
So, how do you know you are dealing with a true concern? Remember, the first time you hear a positive negative or seemingly negative response from the prospect, pick up on the positive.
If it is a true concern, the prospect will stop you and bring the concern to your attention. Usually it is the difference between a statement like “it’s too expensive,” to “we are under pressure to reduce costs and can’t afford the cost of a implementing a new system.” The statement is usually accompanied with a rationale for why I am bringing it to your attention now.
When you develop the skill of picking up on the positive, you can be pleasantly surprised by the prospect’s responses and potentially fewer issues to deal with during your sales call.
“I like the ease of use, but it is too expensive.”
Now what did the prospect say?
Copyright 2012 By J.P. Thompson CHt. All rights reserved.